July 3, 2020

Demand for workspace in Oxford-Cambridge Arc set to soar

New research from Property Consultants Bidwells claims that up to 20 million sq ft of new lab and office space will be required in the Oxford-Cambridge Arc within the next two decades to keep pace with demand, twice the volume of the previous 20 years. The new report, ‘Oxford-Cambridge Arc Beyond the Covid-19 Crisis’, also estimates that the Arc will represent almost 11 percent of UK GVA by 2050, up from 6 percent today, equivalent to £100bn a year. More →

July 2, 2020

Leaders need to develop a high care quotient for the new challenges they face

by Chris Parke • Comment, Wellbeing, Working lives

Everything has taken a hit in 2020. Nothing has gone unscathed or unchanged – and the same goes for leadership. From boardrooms to living rooms, meeting rooms to spare rooms, leadership has moved away from face-to-face interactions to digital communications. Meanwhile, forward-thinking initiatives, spurred on by continuing diversity imbalances and widening gender pay gaps, have been put on hold. Following government guidance, only half of businesses published their 2018-19 gender pay gap report – which could reportedly push gender equality back a whole generation. We are risking losing sight of what’s important to us – and unless we’re intentional about how we make systemic, much-needed organisational changes, they’re not going to happen if we only focus on more ‘critical’ things, or keeping the lights on. More →

July 2, 2020

Wellbeing of overwhelming majority affected by events of 2020

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing

A new study commissioned by Perkbox of 13,271 employees claims that 93 percent of employees have faced new wellbeing challenges in 2020. The most common being feeling less connected to the company/colleagues, increased loneliness/feelings of isolation and increased financial concerns. The study looks at the wellbeing impacts of the events of 2020. Nearly 73 percent state that coronavirus has negatively impacted their mental health, followed by Brexit (29 percent) and Black Lives Matter (27 percent). More →

June 30, 2020

Cracking the issue of work after lockdown

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace design

Take any issue in the modern era and you’ll find a noisy schism. The big-endians and little-endians yelling at each other about the right way to eat a boiled egg, right over the heads of the majority of people who wonder if they’d be better off just having some toast and a nice cup of tea. Not that the toast-eaters can say anything without being accused by both sides of the divide of belonging to the other. More →

June 30, 2020

Research claims two in five workers not offered flexible working

by George Eltringham • Flexible working, News

According to research conducted by conference call provider PowWowNow and Censuswide, 40 per cent of UK employees are still not offered flexible working as part of their company’s policies. More →

June 26, 2020

Work from home advocates beckon us to a living hell

by James Woudhuysen • Comment, Flexible working, Wellbeing

Look, I work from home. The liberal in me says: if you want to and can work from home, then why not? Yes, few of Britain’s cramped homes – especially those occupied by young people – are well equipped for home working, which can be stressful. But, as I say, I see no problem in working from home if you choose to. It’s one thing to say people should be free to work from home (WFH). It’s quite another to endorse it as the New Normal, the way to go, and as a path to a low-pollution, low-emissions paradise on Earth, as many are now doing. More →

June 24, 2020

Carers consider giving up work due to lack of employer support

by George Eltringham • News, Wellbeing, Working culture

New research suggests that almost half (44 percent) of working carers in England and Wales, equivalent to around 1.6 million people, are struggling to cope with the pressures of balancing their work and caring responsibilities – and that a quarter (24 percent) have considered giving up their job entirely. These are the findings in a newly published report, titled “Supporting working carers: How employers and employees can benefit”, from the CIPD and The University of Sheffield. More →

June 24, 2020

Investment in talent will drive market share gains as economy rebounds

by George Eltringham • News, Workplace

Organisations that favour agile working and make strategic investments in human capital during the coronavirus crisis will be best positioned to gain market share and overtake competitors, according to a new Talent Trends report released by Randstad Sourceright. More →

June 24, 2020

The traditional commute to work may be a thing of the past

by Neil Franklin • News, Working lives

A majority of corporate real estate professionals (58 percent) in a recent survey say that the traditional nine to five, Monday to Friday work pattern is a thing of the past. The survey was conducted by CoreNet Global, the professional association for corporate real estate professionals – those who have responsibility for managing the real estate, including workplace configuration and locations, at large corporations globally. The survey was conducted among “end-users” only from May 27 – June 16. More →

June 23, 2020

Law firms plan overhaul of business structures in wake of pandemic

by Neil Franklin • News, Working culture

Around two thirds of legal firms plan to review their business structures and processes in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and well over half are planning a major change in strategy. That’s according to a survey of more than 100 law firms of all sizes conducted by accountants and business advisors association MHA. The survey, carried out during lockdown, also claims that 85 percent of firms say the pandemic will have a ‘moderate’ or ‘major’ impact on fee income. Around 59 percent of firms say they will use the opportunity to change their business strategy with a focus on better IT, review of specialisms, and improving profitability. More →

June 19, 2020

We are in danger of reanimating some bad ideas about work

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Working culture

Did you hear the one about a Swiss court ruling that firms should pay to rent space in the homes of remote workers? It’s a hell of a thing, especially when so much has been made of the cost savings of a reduction in office space. It’s a notion that is extremely likely to be tested in other countries, so brace yourself. It also illustrates why so many of the narratives about working life after lockdown aren’t as straightforward as they might appear. More →

June 19, 2020

A third of employees asked to commit furlough fraud in lockdown

by George Eltringham • News

New research on 2000 furloughed full time employees, suggests that a third of UK bosses are committing fraud and trying to ‘cash in’ by seeking to abuse the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (‘CJRS’) since lockdown. According to the survey by Crossland Employment Solicitors, 34 percent of employees have been asked by their boss to work while being furloughed by their company – an act of fraud under the current rules of the CJRS. More →